In a post-COVID world, remote training and e-learning have become well-known tools to support learning programs. However, there is still value in face-to-face trainings for certain settings. As training and upskilling professionals we should be considerate about the right learning method for the required impact. Let’s share the model that Verhaert Innovation Academy follows to make the right decisions.
As shared in a previous perspective, Bloom’s taxonomy for classification of educational learning objectives still provides the perfect framework. It ranks increased levels of understanding and learning content retention. We mapped various learning formats on this pyramid to come up with the model below.
Figure 1: Bloom’s taxonomy for classification of educational learning objectives into levels of complexity and specificity
From left to right you will find an increasing level of retention, based on the pyramid from earlier. In the simplest training formats, classroom trainings and (online) libraries of educational content enable trainees to describe the learning topic and explain what it is about.
Learning and development methods
Match learning goals with the right combination of methods
Figure 2: Learning and development methods
If the intention of a trainee is to practice and apply the content, then on-demand coaching and interactive e-learning is the better option. These formats allow for a typical understanding of why specific steps are followed and how the challenge can be tackled. Trainees can receive an exercise template that allows them to apply the training content in a more practical way.
If participants should be able to analyze the training content for its relevancy in their context and create output based on the training content, the following formats are great: interactive workshops, communities of practice and 1-on-1 development coaching. These formats are better suited for applied trainings compared to the previous ones, as real cases can be analyzed or built upon.
And finally, acceleration and train-the-trainer programs and co-creational learning sessions provide the highest learning impact. In fact, there is no better format then ‘learning by doing’ to learning retention. These formats will allow trainees to evaluate the relevance of the training and adjust it to make it work better for them and their colleagues.
The main reason why not all training formats are converted into applied learning is of course based on the required time commitment in such programs. As discussed at length in our webinar ‘Innovating from within’, learning and development program directors should be extremely considerate on training topics and formats to provide to their audience. On average, employees have only 24 minutes per week to train new skills. So ‘more is better’ definitely doesn’t apply here.
Therefore, we are still are a big fan of unlocking new training (e-)content on the moment of need and for learning by doing programs like our Corporate Accelerator Program.
